Profitability of animal welfare

Increasing numbers of people are concerned about the conditions of farm animal husbandry systems and of the whole meat industry as well as of the welfare of farm animals in Germany. The willingness to pay for animal welfare-friendly products is increasing, while until now there is only one market-based farm animal welfare (FAW) label in Germany, the “Initiative Tierwohl” (ITW). This initiative is the first cross-sectoral alliance of the agricultural industry, the meat industry and the food retailing. The purpose of this on farm-study was to gain insights into the concept of animal welfare and to analyze the economic effects on a farm with fattening pigs participating in the ITW. Further, the farmer´s evaluation about current challenges in the fattening pig sector as well as his motivation for implementing higher FAW standards were examined. Five methods were applied: a literature review, a qualitative interview, a business segment accounting, an extra-cost accounting and a risk analysis. The results of the literature review showed the need for a uniform definition of FAW, unified measuring tools for FAW and the necessity using participatory approaches developing generalities. In this study four different scenarios were examined: the ITW program phase from 2018 to 2020, the program phase of the ITW from 2021 to 2023, the planned German state label and a control scenario. The analysis regarding the extra costs per pig of the FAW programs demonstrated that the opportunity costs keeping lower amounts of pigs, caused by the space requirements of 10 % and 20 % more space, form the highest cost position. The payed renumerations of 5,10 €/pig and 5,28 €/pig in the ITW-scenarios are enough to cover all incidental extra costs. The planned German label has to face high singular investment costs and a presumed renumeration of 6,00 €/pig would not be enough to cover the extra costs. Participating in the ITW leads to reduced fluctuations of the contribution margin of about 11 %, also called hedging effectiveness. Analyzing economic effects of FAW programs on farms represents an instructive approach to reflect the design of such a program. Further research is needed to analyze which factors determine the profitability of FAW programs the most. Risk-reducing effects of higher FAW standards have to be examined more in detail, for instance including potential positive synergies between FAW and animal health. Considering farmers´ individual risk attitudes will give more concrete recommendations for action in the end.Ett ökande antal personer visar oro över djuruppfödning och djurhållning. Detta gäller även skötseln och skyddet för lantbruksdjur i Tyskland. Konsumenter som är villiga att betala för produkter som har en inriktning på bra djurvälfärd ökar. Det finns för närvarande en marknadsbaserad djurvälfärdsmärkning, eller en så kallad ‘market-based farm animal welfare label’ (FAW) i Tyskland, nämligen “Initiative Tierwohl” (ITW). Detta initiativ är den första övergripande sammanslutningen inom jordbruks-, kött- och livsmedelsindustrin. Syftet med denna studie var att få en inblick i ämnet djurskydd och djurvälfärd för att undersöka de ekonomiska effekterna hos en gård med slaktsvin som deltar i ITW-initiativet. Dessutom undersöktes jordbrukarens egna bedömningar av de aktuella utmaningarna inom sektorn för slaktsvin och hans motivation att genomföra en högre nivå av FAW-standarder. Fem metoder användes: litteraturstudie, en kvalitativ intervju, en analys av verksamhetsgrenar, en merkostnadsberäkning och en riskanalys. Resultaten av den genomgångna litteraturen visade på behovet av en enhetlig definition av FAW, enhetliga mått för FAW och behovet av att använda metoder som är inkluderade under en sådan process. Fyra olika scenarier undersöktes i denna studie: ITWprogrammet under 2018 och 2020, ITW-programmet från 2021 till 2023, den planerade nationella märkningen i Tyskland och ett scenario som användes som kontroll. Analysen av merkostnaderna per gris under FAW-programmet visade att alternativ kostnaderna utgör den högsta kostnadsposten för ett mindre antal grisar när utrymmeskraven ökar med 10% resp. 20%. Det räcker med en ersättning på 5,10 € per gris och 5,28 € per gris i ITW-scenarier för att täcka alla rörliga kostnader. Det planerade tyska djurvälfärdsmärkningen kommer att innebära höga investeringskostnader och en beräknad betalning på 6,00 € per gris räcker inte för att täcka merkostnaderna. Deltagande i ITW leder till att fluktuationerna i täckningsbidraget minskar med cirka 11%. Ytterligare forskning behövs för att analysera vilka faktorer som bäst avgör lönsamheten för ett FAWprogram. Att högre FAW-standard skulle minska riskerna behöver undersökas ytterligare, till exempel genom att integrera potentiella positiva synergier mellan FAW och djurhälsa. Att ta hänsyn till jordbrukarnas individuella attityder till egen risk kan ge mer konkreta rekommendationer för framtida åtgärder

Automated Non-Sterile Pharmacy Compounding: A Multi-Site Study in European Hospital and Community Pharmacies with Pediatric Immediate Release Propranolol Hydrochloride Tablets.

Pharmacy compounding, the art and science of preparing customized medications to meet individual patient needs, is on the verge of transformation. Traditional methods of compounding often involve manual and time-consuming processes, presenting challenges in terms of consistency, dosage accuracy, quality control, contamination, and scalability. However, the emergence of cutting-edge technologies has paved a way for a new era for pharmacy compounding, promising to redefine the way medications are prepared and delivered as pharmacy-tailored personalized medicines. In this multi-site study, more than 30 hospitals and community pharmacies from eight countries in Europe utilized a novel automated dosing approach inspired by 3D printing for the compounding of non-sterile propranolol hydrochloride tablets. CuraBlend <sup>®</sup> excipient base, a GMP-manufactured excipient base (pharma-ink) intended for automated compounding applications, was used. A standardized study protocol to test the automated dosing of tablets with variable weights was performed in all participating pharmacies in four different iterative phases. Integrated quality control was performed with an in-process scale and NIR spectroscopy supported by HPLC content uniformity measurements. In total, 6088 propranolol tablets were produced at different locations during this study. It was shown that the dosing accuracy of the process increased from about 90% to 100% from Phase 1 to Phase 4 by making improvements to the formulation and the hardware solutions. The results indicate that through this automated and quality controlled compounding approach, extemporaneous pharmacy manufacturing can take a giant leap forward towards automation and digital manufacture of dosage forms in hospital pharmacies and compounding pharmacies

Influence of Cannabinoid Receptor Deficiency on Parameters Involved in Blood Glucose Regulation in Mice

Cannabinoids are known to influence hormone secretion of pancreatic islets via G protein-coupled cannabinoid receptor type 1 and 2 (CB1 and CB2). The present study was designed to further investigate the impact of cannabinoid receptors on the parameters involved in insulin secretion and blood glucose recognition. To this end, CB1 and CB2 receptor knockout mice (10–12 week old, both sexes) were characterised at basal state and compared to wild-type mice. The elimination of cannabinoid receptor signalling resulted in alterations of blood glucose concentrations, body weights and insulin levels. Changes were dependent on the deleted receptor type and on the sex. Analyses at mRNA and protein levels provided evidence for the impact of cannabinoid receptor deficiency on the glucose sensing apparatus in the pancreas. Both receptor knockout mouse lines showed decreased mRNA and protein amounts of glucose transporters Glut1 and Glut2, combined with alterations in immunostaining. In addition, pancreatic glucokinase expression was elevated and immunohistochemical labelling was modified in the pancreatic islets. Taken together, CB1 and CB2 signalling pathways seem to influence glucose sensing in β-cells by affecting glucose transporters and glucokinase. These alterations were more pronounced in CB2 knockout mice, resulting in higher blood glucose and lower plasma insulin levels

Management of a cluster of Clostridium difficile infections among patients with osteoarticular infections

Abstract Background Here we describe a cluster of hospital-acquired Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) among 26 patients with osteoarticular infections. The aim of the study was to define the source of C. difficile and to evaluate the impact of general infection control measures and antibiotic stewardship on the incidence of CDI. Methods Epidemiological analysis included typing of C. difficile strains and analysis of possible patient to patient transmission. Infection control measures comprised strict isolation of CDI patients, additional hand washings, and intensified environmental cleaning with sporicidal disinfection. In addition an antibiotic stewardship program was implemented in order to prevent the use of CDI high risk antimicrobials such as fluoroquinolones, clindamycin, and cephalosporins. Results The majority of CDI (n = 15) were caused by C. difficile ribotype 027 (RT027). Most RT027 isolates (n = 9) showed high minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for levofloxacin, clindamycin, and remarkably to rifampicin, which were all used for the treatment of osteoarticular infections. Epidemiological analysis, however, revealed no closer genetic relationship among the majority of RT027 isolates. The incidence of CDI was reduced only when a significant reduction in the use of fluoroquinolones (p = 0.006), third generation cephalosporins (p = 0.015), and clindamycin (p = 0.001) was achieved after implementation of an intensified antibiotic stewardship program which included a systematic review of all antibiotic prescriptions. Conclusion The successful reduction of the CDI incidence demonstrates the importance of antibiotic stewardship programs focused on patients treated for osteoarticular infections